The present invention relates to an information reading apparatus for reading information registered on record mediums such as cards, tapes and the like. More particularly, the present invention is directed to means for reading characters each having a specific configuration defined by a serial array of embossments on a card formed of any suitable material such as for example, plastic.
With the present day development of credit card systems for cashless transactions, effort is being expended by industry to develop new and improved systems wherein individual cards may be operatively connected in an on-line basis to a central computer system and more specifically loaded into a certain teller terminal unit in order to provide data necessary for the central computer to manipulate these transactions. To implement such systems, the concurrent development of excellent credit cards having a high degree of reliability and long life and an improved reader which automatically reads information registered on a card and converts it to any appropriate form accessible directly to computers are required.
One improved type of the credit card is an embossed card wherein the desired number of characters are marked in an array of embossments on a plastic sheet. In the past, one way of optically reading each individual character on the embossed card is to establish a basic plate having a single slit over the surface of the embossed card.
Light beams passing through the slit at a predetermined angle irradiates and scans optically the surface of the card. Reflection light beams passing through the same slit are sensed by a series of light-sensitive elements to determine from variations in the amount of the reflected light beams whether the character embossments are in part present or not. However, since irradiation for the card surface and detection of the reflection light beams are both by the same slit, there are in practice problems associated with the signal-to-noise ratio.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an embossed card reader which can overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art techniques.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
Pursuant to the present invention, the above-mentioned disadvantages may be eliminated and an improved information reader can be provided wherein a slit plate with a double slit construction is utilized in order to enhance the accuracy of the reading of the characters. The information area of the embossed card is irradiated and scanned by light beams passed past one of the pair of slits. Only light beams reflected on the planar or raised surface of the card are allowed to extend over the remaining slit to an array of parallel aligned light-sensitive elements. By sequentially scanning operations of the light-sensitive elements, each individual embossment is detected in a storage mode to recognize characters registered on the card.